Sir, Yes Sir
by HK7747
Summary: Mostly inspired by the movie-verse version. I got inspiration from the witty/sarcastic banter between Percy and Clarisse in Sea of Monsters and could see them together a lot easier that 'lit-verse' Clarisse, who was just too much of a full-on bully for me to think of shipping with Percy. Anyways, I intend for this to be a one-shot, but if it sticks, well, who knows! ;)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Movieverse. I never would've shipped this pairing in the 'litverse' or book universe, but having seen Sea of Monsters and the Clarisse they had in that and the way she interacted with Percy, I have to say that that sparked an interest in this particular pairing! Anyways, I think I'll just leave this as a one-shot for the moment being, but if I get any ideas on how to expand on it and if there's enough demand, I'll elaborate on this particular story. Anyways, I'm done rambling! Enjoy!

**Percy's POV**

I woke up in Poseidon cabin to the fresh smell of sea air. It always smelt like that in the cabin, which was pretty awesome, I'd have to say. I sat up in my bed and looked around the empty cabin. Normally, it's super disorganized and I've got clothes all over the place, some dirt or mud tracked in from that day's activities, but today I woke up to a spotless room. The harpies will only really come in to clean once I'm moving out of camp for the school year, so the reason for it being spotless, well, I got bored last night with time to kill before lights-out time, so I went on a cleaning frenzy.

I grabbed a towel and made my way to the bathroom. I climbed into the shower and allowed myself to get wet from the warm downpour. Having the water wash over me was a soothing feeling. Any early-morning grogginess suddenly vanished and I was energized. I toweled myself off after I'd rinsed soap and shampoo off, then I crossed over to the sinks there. I looked myself in the mirror, the sea-green irises flitting around as I looked myself over. My hair was still a little damp and there were little droplets of water still on my skin. I willed myself dry and my body just absorbed the residual moisture. I brushed my teeth and put on deodorant and cologne before walking back to my bed and changing into jeans and a t-shirt.

With that, I waltzed out of my cabin, whistling happily as I gazed around the camp on my way to the pavilion for breakfast. I love this place.

"Why are you so smug and jolly, Jackson?" a voice asked harshly.

Did I love this part of camp? Not so much.

"Morning to you too, Clarisse," I replied drily. "A person's not allowed to be happy here all of a sudden?"

"Oh no, people are allowed to be happy, just not 'spring-in-your-step-whistling-loudly' kinda happy," she shot back.

"Sir, yes, sir," I quipped sarcastically.

"Don't forget it, soldier!" she said, walking away.

I shook my head and started making my way to the pavilion when Grover sidled up to me.

"Hey, buddy!" I cheered, swinging my arm across his shoulders. "What's up?"

"You hear about the party Aphrodite cabin are throwing tonight?" Grover asked.

"No," I answered slowly. I honestly didn't know about the party, but I know what you're signing up for an Aphrodite cabin party. Some sappy games like spin the bottle, truth or dare, a few spiked drinks. I'd only been to the one since I came to camp, but I knew what they were like.

"Well, you gotta come tonight, Perce. This one's supposed to be off the hook! Even some of the wood nymphs are coming to it!" Grover said, a cloudy look taking over his eyes upon mentioning the wood nymphs.

"Earth to Grover!" I shouted, waving my hand in front of his eyes.

He shook himself and snapped back to attention.

"Anyway, Percy, you have to be there for this one!"

"That's what I'd been told the last time I went to an Aphrodite party and I spent all night holding up the wall."

"Yeah, but Percy, that was when you were a shy undetermined demigod, now that you're one of, if not *the* most powerful demigod at camp! They'll want you in on the fun!"

"Alright, buddy. If you're really that set on me 'having' to be there, then count me in."

"YES!" Grover jumped and fist pumped in triumph. "MY MAN!"

I rolled my eyes at his antics as we came up to the pavilion, and we parted ways, him going up to the main table and me heading over to get some food and offered up two pancakes and a few eggs for my dad, and also muttered a prayer for Aphrodite to make this party better than the last one I'd been to.

I sat down and wolfed down my breakfast with some blue Coca-Cola, enjoying eating in silence.

The day went by quickly, with the morning taken up by various forms of weapon training. Chiron even said that my archery was getting ever so slightly better than abysmal! I spent the afternoon at the lake, the first half in a canoe, and the latter half just sitting at the bottom of the lake. I climbed out and felt re-energized and I walked back to my cabin to get ready for the party. I changed into a better pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. I walked back to the bathroom and refreshed my deodorant and cologne and brushed my teeth.

Just as I'd finished, I heard a knock at the door of the cabin. I opened it up to see Grover standing there, evidently brimming with excitement.

"Percy, my man, tonight is the night!" He cried, making as if to step in, but halting himself with one hoof suspended in the air and an unsure look on his face.

"Oh, come in, Grover!" I sighed in joking exasperation.

He continued his way into the cabin, looked me over and slapped me on the arm.

"So, you ready?" he asked, grinning widely.

"Um, yeah, sure," I replied.

"Come on, lighten up, Perce!" he said, stepping in and putting both hands on my shoulders.

"Percy, are you wearing ocean-scented deodorant and cologne?" he asked, frowning slightly and chuckling.

"I wouldn't be talking, mister woodsy-earthen cologne!" I quipped.

We stood there for a second, before breaking down in hysterics. It lasted a good couple of minutes before we composed ourselves.

"Okay, Perce, we seriously need to get going. Wouldn't want to miss out on any of the fun!"

With that, he dragged me out of the cabin and we made our way to the Aphrodite cabin. We could hear music from outside of it as we approached, and we went and knocked on the door.

An Aphrodite girl answered the door.

"Percy, Grover! Come on in! You're just in time! Party's about to start!" she said cheerfully.

With that, we walked in, getting a few cheers as we walked in from a few friends of ours. Another Aphrodite camper handed us plastic cups with some pop in it.

As things got into gear, I realized things were turning out to be just as I expected them to be. Everyone was gathering in a circle for Truth or Dare. I walked to the back slowly and took up a spot leaning against the wall. I had considered just leaving, but I couldn't ditch Grover.

"You look like you're having the time of your life, Jackson," I heard a voice quip.

"Clarisse! Well, you know me, party animal for the ages, here," I shot back.

She scoffed, "Uh huh, I just can't imagine this party surviving without you being the life of it."

"Ooh, Clarisse, you wound me," I said mockingly, holding a hand to my chest and feigning agony.

"Well, I suppose getting your butt kicked all the time will do that to you," she replied.

Our own spat ended there as we began a running commentary of the proceedings.

"Wonder what they're gonna get Grover to do," I commented.

"Oh please, everyone knows he has the hots for Juniper," Clarisse drawled.

"Fair enough, your point being?"

"My *point* is that those matchmaking-obsessed Aphrodite campers will pull some stunt or another to set them up," she stated. "10 drachmas they'll wait until the next 'game'."

I looked over at her, my eyebrow arched.

"You don't think they'll do it during Truth or Dare?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"No, they'll probably get him to do something embarrassing, then wait for Spin the Bottle," she said confidently.

"Alright, it's a bet. I say 10 drachmas that it's during Truth or Dare, you say it'll be Spin the Bottle," I declared, reaching over for a handshake, which might've been bone crunching for anyone else, judging from how tightly Clarisse gripped my hand.

"What are you doing at this party, anyways, Jackson?" she said as we settled back into our wall-leaning as we surveyed the Truth or Dare game unfolding before us.

"Grover dragged me here, obviously. I figured your genius powers of deduction would've figured it out. Who dragged you here?"

"You assume that I wouldn't want to be here of my own free will?" she challenged.

"Well, you're not necessarily partying things up; you're pulling the wallflower manoeuvre like me, so I just figured you were here because of someone else, rather than coming on your own."

A minute passed before she sighed, resigned.

"Silena made me come," she said, a defeated edge colouring her words.

I patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Clarisse, it gets better," I said, my voice dripping with mock concern.

"Get your hand off my shoulder, Jackson," she growled.

I laughed as I acquiesced, and kept to surveying the game as it got to Grover.

"Grover, Truth or Dare?" a camper asked.

"I'm feeling adventurous tonight, let's go with a dare!" he replied energetically.

The crowd cheered.

"Okay, Grover, I dare you to…" the camper started, as he looked around the circle, his eyes resting on Juniper a second.

I stood up in anticipation.

"Do a song and jig on the roof of the Big House!" he finished dramatically.

Everyone let out an appreciative 'ooh' at the challenge.

Grover fidgeted nervously for a second, before taking a deep breath.

"Alright!" he cried, to huge applause and cheers.

Everyone filed out of the Aphrodite cabin to follow Grover on his trek up to the Big House.

"Ten drachmas, Jackson," Clarisse said gleefully, holding out her hand.

"Well, wait, there's a chance you could be wrong, too!" I protested.

"Hmm, you've got a point. If that's the case, no money changes hands, we'll call it even," she said, holding out her hand for another handshake.

I chuckled and accepted the handshake, and we turned our attention to Grover as we arrived to the Big House. He clambered up to the roof and stood at the peak, spreading his arms.

"Camp Half-Blood! How's it going tonight?" He shouted.

Everyone cheered in response.

Grover immediately began tap-dancing on the roof in time as he sang some Katy Perry song at the top of his lungs.

As he finished, he struck a pose, to massive cheers. He clambered down and was given a hero's welcome once he was on the ground. Everyone walked back to the Aphrodite cabin to continue the party.

"Alright! So that gives us a great chance to transition into our next game: 7 minutes in heaven!" an Aphrodite girl cheered.

Her cry was matched by everyone else as everyone got back into a circle, with Clarisse and I regaining our spots at the wall, away from proceedings.

The Aphrodite girl who'd announced the game seemed to be the one running this game, as she then went on to declare, "First ones up… Let's have our two *wallflowers*, Percy and Clarisse!"

There was a mix of gasps and cheers as we both froze.

"No!" we both shouted at the same time.

"Come on!" the Aphrodite girl protested. "Are you two gonna be party poopers?"

The crowd began to chant "Party poopers"

Grover walked up.

"Come on, Perce! I just danced and sung on the roof of the Big House! Mr. D and Chiron will probably kill me! Least you could do is suck it up and spend 7 minutes with Clarisse!" Grover said.

After a few more minutes of nagging from the crowd, we made our way to the closet they'd emptied for this game. They shut the door and I heard them push some heavy stuff in front of the door.

"Really, Aphrodite?" I muttered somewhat darkly. "This isn't what I meant when I asked for this party to be good…"

"What's that, Jackson?" Clarisse hissed.

"Nothing," I replied hurriedly.

"Whatever, suit yourself," she scoffed. "I can't believe it. Not only am I stuck in a damn closet for seven minutes, but I'm stuck in here with you of all people."

"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad!" I protested.

The closet was pitch black, but I could tell she was arching her eyebrow at me, or giving some sort of challenging look.

"What is it about me that annoys you so damn much, anyways, Clarisse?"

"Well, Jackson, if you must know, you're always so smug, like just being Poseidon's son gives you special entitlement or something-" she began.

"It doesn't," I snapped.

That seemed to shut her right up.

"My life's always been a struggle with my identity. I feel that being a child of one of the Big Three, and being the subject of that big Prophecy, there's a lot of weight on my shoulders. Each day, I look in the mirror, and I ask myself 'Am I good enough to be the hero who saves Olympus? Or will I fail it and be the reason of its downfall?' I even question whether I'm good enough to be Poseidon's son. I feel like, there's such expectation from everyone at camp, from the gods, from everyone, about what I'll do, and I just feel like no matter how hard I try, I'll never be good enough to save Olympus."

I let out a shaky breath as I finished, trying, but failing to control that breath that gave away the fact that my eyes were watering up.

There was about a half-minute of silence before Clarisse spoke up.

"Percy, I had no idea you were going through that. I'll admit that I'm super jealous of you, for being Poseidon's son, being the child of Prophecy, and I guess that jealousy kinda coloured my opinion of you. Truth be told, you're a great guy Percy, you're an amazing hero, the best at camp by a long shot. Even if you don't know it yourself. You *are* good enough to be Poseidon's son, Percy. I have no doubt that he'd be proud to have you as a son, I'm sure you'd be among his favourites, too. You can save Olympus, Percy, I know you can. In fact, I know you'll save it. It's not expectations, Percy, it's faith. We all have faith in you."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. All of a sudden, all the doubts and anxieties I'd had over the past while just washed away, leaving me with a sense of peace and determination. Suddenly, I reached my hand forward at about head level and found Clarisse's hair. I inched it away so that I was cupping her cheek, then I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. I expected resistance, maybe even a shove and a right hook, but I felt her return the kiss. After a few moments, I pulled away slightly.

"Thanks, Clarisse, I really appreciate that. You don't know how much that means to me," I whispered.

"No problem Percy," she replied sweetly. "But if you ever start doubting yourself again, I'll kick your ass."

I chuckled, running my thumb back and forth across her smooth cheek.

"Sir, yes sir," I quipped, before leaning back in to kiss her.

We stayed like that for a few more minutes, not even noticing that our fellow campers had covertly opened the door and were taking a video of us making out, until a flash on someone's phone went off and that snapped us back to reality and we pulled apart.

"Awww!" Grover called out obnoxiously, causing everyone to laugh and Clarisse and I to blush.

"Soooo!" an Aphrodite camper called out, breaking the attention away from us. "Time for Spin the Bottle!"

Clarisse and I linked hands as we walked over to our spots at the back, against the wall and surveyed the game.

One of the campers spun it once everyone was in a circle, and it stopped with one end pointing at Grover and the other at Juniper. They both sheepishly (no pun intended) got up and walked up to each other and kissed, the kiss suddenly deepening, which evicted cat calls from the assembled campers.

"Pay up, Percy," Clarisse said, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Fine," I grumbled, keeping my one hand linked to hers whilst fishing in my pocket for the money.

I handed it over to her and she pocketed it gleefully, turning back and kissing me on the cheek, which brought out a slightly goofy grin out of me.

Inside my head, I heard a distinctly feminine voice clearing its throat.

"Thanks, Aphrodite," I said under my breath, as I turned and kissed Clarisse.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the positive reviews! It means a lot to me to hear that the story's gone over so well (so far)! Thay23, you wouldn't happen to be Mr. D in disguise? I don't think anybody else would call Percy 'Perry'! XD I'm just kidding around :P Anyways, I'm on the second-last day of a vacation from work, so I don't know how frequently I can update once I'm back! Enjoy!**

Percy's POV

There was about an hour left until lights-out when Clarisse and I ducked out of the party, which was beginning to die down. Hands linked, I led her down to the docks and we took our shoes off and sat at the edge of the pier with our feet dipped in the water.

"So, what does this mean for us, Clarisse?" I asked, breaking the comfortable silence we were in.

She sat there for a moment, her dark hair being blown around by the soft breeze rolling over the lake.

"I don't know, Jackson, is tonight gonna be a one-time kind of thing?" she asked, focusing her attention on me.

I thought about it for a second. I thought about the way we interacted before today. I thought about the way we interacted at the party. The talk we had in the closet.

"No Clarisse," I answered finally. "I don't want it to be a one-time kind of thing."

She smiled, "Good."

She leaned over and kissed me chastely.

"I wanna show you something," I said, smiling.

She nodded, and I ensured she was holding my hand, and I pushed myself off the pier, taking her with me, which elicited a yelp out of her. As we were entering the lake, I willed an air bubble around us, which kept us completely dry.

Clarisse opened her eyes once she realized she wasn't soaked and submerged. She gasped as she looked around, seeing us at the bottom of the lake.

"This is my favourite spot in the whole camp. The bottom of the lake. I come here when I need to find some peace, to think some things over. It's so… calming. I don't need the air bubble when I come down here, I can breathe underwater, but I wanted to show you this spot and, you know, not be completely soaked," I said, chuckling bashfully at the end.

She chuckled with me as she looked around, still marvelling at the landscape around us.

"This is amazing, Percy," she said in awe. She turned to face me, "Thank you so much for showing this to me. I can see why you come down here. This must seem like an escape for you, from the surface world, the expectations… You can just come down here and forget about the prophecy for just a little bit."

"That's exactly what this place means to me," I whispered.

We looked at each other in the eyes.

"It's crazy, we were always at each other's throats before today, always giving each other a hard time, but little did I know how well you get me," I told her. "You read me so well, and I feel like I'm playing catch-up, because I'm starting to see this whole other side to you. This whole other side that's just absolutely amazing, that's sweet and caring, insightful."

She looked down, bashfully. With my free hand, I reached forward and lightly tilted her chin up to re-establish eye contact.

"The more and more I find out about you, the more I'm starting to fall for you. It's not just 'oh, I see this other side to you and that's the only part I like', no! I find it connects beautifully with the person I've known all along, and it's like I've just been looking at light through a filter. The light's seemed pretty nice through the filter, and then you take away the filter that was only showing you so much of the true beauty of the light."

"Wow, didn't know you were such a poet, Percy," Clarisse teased, but still blushing substantially. "Careful, you might just go and steal some girl's heart with those slick words."

"Well, if it's yours, then my conscience won't weigh so heavily on me for the crime," I quipped, before swooping in to kiss her.

"And here I thought I had you all figured out, Percy, and now you pull out this super suave romantic other side of you!" she said with admiration.

I shrugged jokingly.

"Ooh, and now I've stumped the great Perseus Jackson! Never has a comment been made in his presence without him quipping in some way or another, especially when it concerns him!" she said overdramatically.

Some of the inhabitants of the lake had heard the disruption and came to inspect and I could hear their chuckling in my mind.

"You know, I think being submerged this long is making you talk nonsense," I said, willing the bubble up to the surface and a small wave to carry us back to the pier.

"Oh, please, Jackson, you just didn't want me to embarrass you in front of your fish friends!" she teased.

"Shut up," I complained jokingly, playfully nudging her with my shoulder.

"Was that supposed to be a hit, Jackson?" Clarisse challenged incredulously.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"You better hope it wasn't, because that was downright pathetic! A three year old could hit harder than you!" she taunted.

I arched an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

"What?" she protested, seeing my stance. "Just because we're dating doesn't mean I'm gonna take it easy on you!"

"Oh, we're dating, are we?" I challenged (jokingly), smirking slightly.

She began blushing furiously. Gotcha!

"Uhm, well, I guess, uhh, I assumed that with the um, kisses, and the hand-holding… thing, that, uh-" Clarisse floundered.

"Clarisse," I said, putting two calming hands on her shoulders. "I'm just making you squirm, that was mean of me."

That awarded me a solid punch to the shoulder.

"Don't you dare pull that kind of stunt, again Jackson, or I'll kick your ass so hard, it'll hurt for you to walk for a week," she threatened, and I could tell she meant business.

"I've already gone through that," I dismissed.

"Would you like to make it two?" she inquired.

"Nonononono!" I responded hurriedly. "I'll stick with the week."

She nodded her confirmation.

"So, Clarisse-" I started, only for the signal to go off, signalling the rapid approach of lights-out time. "I'll walk you back, I guess."

We walked (quickly) back in silence, and once we got to the steps leading up to the Ares cabin, we stood face to face, our hands linked.

"I had a really great time tonight Clarisse, thank you so much," I said sincerely. "Would you do me the honour of officially being my girlfriend?"

She grinned widely.

"Of course, Jackson. Tonight was great, I'd like for it to happen more often!" she said, extending slightly on her tiptoes and capturing my lips in hers.

We stayed like that for a minute before she pulled away.

"Goodnight, Percy," she breathed, looking into my eyes one last time before heading up the steps to her cabin.

"Goodnight, Clarisse!" I called out.

Once the door closed (after she'd snuck one last little look out, as if to make sure I was still there, and-indeed- real), I jammed my hands in my pockets and made my way back to my cabin, whistling as I went. I got back to my cabin in the nick of time, as I heard the signal for lights-out just as I'd stepped into my cabin. Whew, close call.

I quickly changed into pajamas before flopping down onto my bed, with thoughts of a certain daughter of Ares running through my mind.

******THE NEXT DAY******

Percy's POV

I woke up and went through my daily prep routine with a little bit of a bounce in my step. Just as I'd stepped out of my cabin to head out to the pavilion, I heard a gruff voice behind me.

"Wait a sec, kiddo. I gotta have a word with you."

Oh, gods. Ares. This couldn't be good. He and I already had our own little rivalry going on, and now I was gonna be dating his daughter?! The words "Recipe for disaster" came to mind.

"What can I do for you today, Lord Ares?" I asked.

"Well, for starters, take a walk with me."

I followed Ares, who was appearing in the biker outfit I'd grown accustomed to. He brought me to the pier, far enough away from the morning proceedings of the campers so as to not be noticed.

"I basically came to make myself clear on some ground rules I'm setting if you want to date my daughter. I realize that what you and I got is between us, and that I have no say in choosing my daughter's love interests, no matter how much I may hate them."

I nodded along to what he was saying.

"First off: you will not hurt my daughter."

"Uhm, Lord Ares?..." I began, immediately seeing a slight loophole.

"Oh, I don't mean physical damage, sea brat, I mean that if you break her heart, I break your skull."

"Noted," I gulped. I'm normally not afraid of the guy, but I really didn't want to challenge him when he was in this kind of mood.

"You will _not_, under any circumstances, have any kind of sex-related stuff going on with her out of wedlock!"

I began spluttering.

"You will treat her nicely as long as you two are together," Ares declared.

This one I gave an impatient, knowing shrug. Of course I'm damn well going to be nice to her!

"And lastly, you stay faithful to her! You so much as let a nail hang out of line; I'm coming for you, Capische?"

"Sir, yes sir," I replied nervously, even throwing in a salute for good measure.

"Good. Glad we could see eye to eye," he said, a menacing edge still present in his voice as he clapped me on the shoulder, then walked a few feet away before vanishing in a small mushroom cloud explosion.

****A FEW HOURS EARLIER****

Clarisse's POV

I woke up earlier than I normally would, and grabbed some clothes and the necessary toiletries for the day and headed to the girls' bathroom. Once I got ready, I noticed a greenish-blue glow filtering in from outside through the mesh windows just below the roof.

I left the cabin to investigate, and came face to face with Poseidon.

"Good morning, Clarisse," he said cheerfully. "Care to go for a walk?"

"Good morning, Lord Poseidon. I'd be honoured to accompany you," I replied, bowing slightly.

_Gods_, I thought, _this must be to do with me and Percy!_

He took me on a path that brought us to the opposite shore of the lake from the pier where Percy and I went last night.

"You're probably wondering why I've come to talk to you, Clarisse," Poseidon said as he took a seat on the shore and beckoned for me to do so as well. He kicked off his sandals and dipped his feet in the water.

As he sat there, I couldn't help but marvel at how much he reminded me of Percy. Or maybe rather how much Percy reminded me of him, seeing as how Poseidon been around a few millennia more than Percy.

"I'm gonna guess it has to do with me and Percy?" I hazarded, knowing quite well that there was perhaps the most microscopic of mathematical chances of it*not* having to do with Percy and I.

"Right you are, Clarisse," he responded.

He looked out over the lake, adopting another expression reminiscent of Percy, a look of peace as he surveyed the calm waters.

"I want to wish you two the best of luck and the greatest happiness in your relationship. Only thing that I ask of you is that you two refrain from any kind of pre-marital sexual activities."

I began to blush furiously, which did not go unnoticed by the god.

"Sorry, it just had to be put out there. Best that you know the sort of rules I set for the two of you, and know them clearly. Luckily, I just have the one. Now, your father on the other hand, will most certainly be much more strict with his rules for the two of you," he said, a slight mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.

I laughed a little bit, "I'll keep that in mind, Lord Poseidon."

"Good," he said, turning around and grabbing his sandals, before turning back to the lake and diving in, but not before sending a mischievous wink over his shoulder.

I looked into the water but could not see Poseidon anywhere.

With that, I got up and made my way to the pavilion. I waited for the rest of my cabin to come before I grabbed my food, and as I was eating it, I saw Percy arrive out of the corner of my eye. He walked by and slowed down quick enough to plant a quick peck on top of my head, which got me blushing and had the rest of the cabin giving me mischievous/teasing looks.

Once breakfast was done, I met up with Percy and we linked hands as we made our way to the stadium for weapons training.

"So, I had a little chat with your dad," I said, after we'd greeted each other.

"Oh, really? Because I just had a conversation with yours! That's why I was a little late to breakfast," Percy explained.

"Oh dear," I said, expecting what was to come.

"Yeah, he basically said 'don't break her heart, stay faithful, and um, no sex… stuff…'" he finished, embarrassed.

"In those exact words?" I teased.

"No," he said, ashamed.

"Well, if you must know, my chat with your dad basically consisted of him passing on his well-wishing, and he may have mentioned something about the, um, no sex… stuff…" I said, grinning widely.

It took Percy a second to realize that I was making fun of him with my wording.

"Hey! Cut it out!" he protested.

"You beat me fair and square in hand-to-hand combat at the arena, and I'll quit bugging you about it!" I challenged.

"You're on, my warrior princess!" he said, as he took off toward the arena.

"Ugh, so corny!" I called out after him.

It's a good thing he didn't turn back, or he would've noticed me blushing.

**A/N: ** **Aaaaaaand that's it for chapter 2! I've already got some ideas for chapter 3 so chances are I'll get that pumped out tomorrow so that I can give you guys at least that much before my opportunities to sit down and write become significantly more scarce what with work. Anyways, thanks again for reading, live out loud, everyone! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **I gotta admit, I'm really enjoying writing this story! It kinda started out as a one-shot that was tickling my fancy, but now just getting to flesh this pairing out makes me happy! :) Anyways, I'm brimming with ideas of what I can make these silly puppets do- er, I mean, where I can take the story from here… Whew, dodged that bullet! Anyways, hope you enjoy this next chapter! I felt it would kind of complement last chapter nicely! :)**

Percy's POV

We finally got to the winter segment of the camp's year (both Clarisse and I had begged our moms to let us stay at camp for the year and they accepted) and Clarisse and I were out at the pavilion planning out our months of December.

"So, what do you think of this," Clarisse began. "We fly out to my mom's in Phoenix for the first two weeks of December, and then we visit your mom until the 28th, upon which we'll be back and settled in in time for the camp's New Year celebration."

As she finished she turned to me, smiling sweetly. I'll admit, I kinda zoned out once she finished, just admiring her, still in a state of disbelief that this incredible young woman was my girlfriend.

"Hello? Earth to Percy?" she asked, snapping her fingers in front of my eyes.

I shook out of my trance.

"Gah! Sorry! Kinda spaced out there for a sec," I said, feeling my face go red. "Sounds like a good plan; although my mom might be kinda bummed we can't stay for New Years' in the Big Apple."

"Well, we'll be sure to make the visit extra special for her!" Clarisse replied. "Come on, let's Iris-message them to tell them."

We went over to Poseidon cabin and I gave her verbal permission to come in, and we walked over to the fountain, muttered a quick prayer to Iris before tossing a golden drachma into the mist from the fountain. The coin disappeared and an image of Clarisse's mom reading a book on a couch came up.

"Hey mom!" Clarisse cried out cheerfully.

Ms. La Rue looked up, only the tiniest bit startled. She must have mostly gotten over the shock of Iris messaging.

"Clarisse, how are you?" Clarisse's mom said, beaming at seeing her daughter.

"I'm good mom, really good," Clarisse replied, shooting me a quick glance whilst grinning. "Mom, this is Percy, my boyfriend."

She gestured me over to join her, as I'd been kind of standing out of the way of the Iris message.

"Hi Ms. La Rue!" I waved at her, giving my best smile.

"Percy! It's great to finally be introduced to you, after all the nice things Clarisse has said about you!" She replied cheerfully.

"Well, as long as it's just nice stuff she's told you, then we're all good," I joked.

She laughed, "Well, other than introducing me to Percy, to what do I owe the call?" she asked, directing that to Clarisse.

"I can't just Iris-Message you for the sake of talking to you?" Clarisse asked in joking shock.

Clarisse's mom quirked an eyebrow, obviously sensing that there was more to the call than just introducing me.

"We wanted to call you to let you know we'll be coming by to visit you for the first few weeks of December!" Clarisse declared, stealing a glance at me as she said this.

A huge smile spread on Ms. La Rue's face.

"Clarisse, that's such great news! I'm so excited that the two of you will be coming to visit!" she declared cheerfully, then furrowed her eyebrows before continuing somewhat distractedly, "I'll have to get your bedroom ready, not to mention the guest bedroom, tidy things up a little-…"

"Mom, we'll get going, looks like you've got a little bit on your plate!" Clarisse said.

"Bye Clarisse, love you!" she replied, waving.

"Love you too!" and with that, Clarisse ended the call.

"So, not meaning for this to come across the wrong way, but…" I began hesitantly, and Clarisse quirked an eyebrow, which was very reminiscent of the fashion in which her mother had just done. "I thought most of the gods, especially your dad, typically had children with mortals who, I dunno, had some sort of tie to the god's domain, no?"

"You were expecting my mom to be a biker or a soldier, or something like that," Clarisse stated bluntly.

I shrugged very defensively, anticipating the accusing tirade I fully deserved.

"What? What're you cringing for, Percy? Afraid I'm gonna kick your ass?" she joked.

I straightened up, no longer feeling threatened.

"No," I said dismissively. "I was just expecting you to get mad at me for jumping to conclusions."

"Well, you see Percy, is that despite their divine status and heritage, the gods of Olympus fall in love in a way very reminiscent of humans. Or I guess that our way of falling in love very much reflects theirs. Granted, they tend to fall or respect a mortal and have a child with them one way or another and leave it there, but the actual attraction works in pretty much the same way. It's unexpected, sudden, sometimes it makes sense, other times it doesn't."

"Makes sense, I guess," I commented tamely.

"Hey, come on, brighten up Kelp Head, we gotta call your mom!" she said, giving me a quick peck on the lips.

I smirked, before fishing a drachma out of my pocket and tossing it into the mist.

After muttering another prayer to Iris, an image shimmered into existence of my mom dancing around the kitchen as she listened to music whilst baking some delicious looking blue muffins.

"Oh my gods," I muttered, my hands coming up to cover my face in exasperation.

Clarisse giggled.

"MOM!" I shouted.

Sally Jackson spun around at the noise, and upon seeing myself and Clarisse, leaned over and hit pause on her music.

"Percy!" she beamed, slightly out of breath.

"Hey mom, this is Clarisse, my girlfriend," I said, cutting right to the chase upon seeing the not-so-subtle inquisitive glances my mom had been casting at Clarisse.

My mom's face lit up instantly.

"That is amazing news, Percy!" she turned to address Clarisse. "Clarisse, I'm so glad to meet you, I'm sure Percy will tell me all about you later, but it's great to actually see you, and wow, are you ever beautiful! My son's quite the lucky one!"

I could tell that mom fully intended to do a round of 20 Questions with me later all about Clarisse, but for now, I stayed in the moment, grinning slightly as Clarisse blushed at my mom's comments.

"Nah, Ms. Jackson, I'm the lucky one, your son is an incredible guy, the best of the campers here in every sense, and I guess he's pretty easy on the eyes," she joked, nudging me with her elbow and shooting me a joking glance.

My mom laughed, "I'm glad to hear that, and please, call me Sally."

"Thanks Sally" Clarisse smiled. "Any embarrassing stories about Percy?"

"Shall I go by chronological order or categorical order?" my mom deadpanned.

"Sooo, mom!" I intervened, trying to veer the conversation away from some of the embarrassing stories I know mom had set aside specifically for occasions such as these, "I just wanted to call A) to introduce you two, and B) to let you know that we're gonna be coming to visit you from about the 14th of December to the 28th."

My mom squealed. For real.

"That's so exciting! I can't _wait_ to have you two over! I'll make blue pancakes, blue cookies, blue-"

"Mom! Focus!" I said.

"Oh, right!" she said as she snapped back to the real world.

"Actually, while we we're somewhat on the topic of blue food, any chance you could send me a batch of those muffins? Which kind are they?" I asked.

"Funny you should ask, because I was making these specifically for the purpose of a care package of sorts I was gonna send you! Your favourite blue muffins!" she chirped, delighted.

My jaw dropped.

"With the chocolate chips?!"

"Not just any chocolate chips!" she sang.

"BLUE CHOCOLATE CHIPS?!" I suggested incredulously.

"Yup!"

"You're honestly the best, mom! I love you sooooooooo much!" I exclaimed, my mind blown.

"Might want to take note, Clarisse, this one's a pretty open book as far as the way to his heart is concerned. There's that good old detour to the stomach en route that you have to keep in mind," my mom said conspiratorially to Clarisse.

"Oh, I hear you, Ms. Jackson," Clarisse replied, feigning concern.

"What did I tell you about calling me Ms. Jackson?" my mom asked.

"Not to do it, to call you Sally."

"Exactly. So, basic rule of thumb, if you can make something really nicely, make it blue and the boy will love you forever," my mom said, rolling her eyes a bit jokingly.

"Well, I'd better get started," Clarisse joked, winking at me.

"Anyways, mom, we have to go, great talking to you, and we'll see you later!" I piped up, wanting to minimize the embarrassment my mom was causing.

"Yeah, sorry we couldn't talk any longer, but it was really nice meeting you, Sally!" Clarisse added.

"Oh, no worries! I enjoyed getting to see and talk to you both, especially to be introduced to you, Clarisse! I'm really looking forward to having the two of you over in December!" Mom replied, giving us a little wave as we ended the Iris message.

Clarisse then turned to me wordlessly, her eyebrow arched and a wicked look in her eyes that would make even the Stoll brothers look innocent.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," I grumbled.

"Awww, is wittwe Pewcy embawwassed by his Mommy?" she teased.

"Not embarrassed _by_ her, so much as it being as a result of her stories," I said, rolling my eyes quickly. "Any longer and she would've busted out the baby pictures," I added with a sizeable shudder.

"Well, there _is_ always those two weeks we're visiting for her to break those out," Clarisse mused.

I could feel myself paling in horror.

"Oh, gods, no," I whispered in dismay.

"This is gonna be fun!" she said cheerfully.

A thought occurred to me, "Wait, I could always just ask _your_ mom about any embarrassing stories, or to see the baby pictures she doubtlessly has."

"That's impossible, I got rid of them," she interjected, a little too forcefully, and not too convincingly. I decided to not call her on that. Yet.

"Well, whatever you say. If there aren't pictures, there are still stories. Two weeks is a long time, plenty of time to cover the best and juiciest childhood adventures of Clarisse La Rue."

She visibly deflated a bit at that, "Look, Percy, maybe these visits aren't such a great idea…"

"Clarisse, if it's about the stories, or even the pictures, I'll let it go. I'll hear the stories when you're comfortable with it. Those couple of weeks are for us to enjoy together, and if that means that I have to suffer a little for you to enjoy yourself, then that's all I can ask for," I told her sincerely, holding her hands in mine.

She looked up into my eyes. I could tell I said the right thing, because of the soft smile and the look in her eyes. She leaned up and kissed me, her hands going up my arms and shoulders and settling on the back of my head, her fingers running through my hair. I had kinda lamely reached out and settled my hands on her hips.

She pulled away, "Thank you, Percy, that really means a lot to me."

"Anytime, beautiful," I replied, giving her a small wink.

"That being said… Your mom and I are going to have a great few weeks. I'm gonna make sure she doesn't leave out any juicy details! No stone left unturned!" she said all this whilst walking out of my cabin, shouting that last sentence over her shoulder.

I watched her go, then muttered, "Dammit."

**A/N: Gaaah! Sorry about the delay! Just, getting back to work and everything has just been crazy! Even though I'm technically just a part-timer as far as the paperwork goes and everything, I've been working full-time hours, so it's been pretty much 'work-sleep-busy on days off-work some more'. I'm so glad I could finally catch enough of a break to finish this chapter up, because you guys have all been so fantastic with your reviews! The positivity, the support, and the patience you guys have shown just blows me out of the water (honestly, no pun intended)! I wanted to make sure I could pump this chapter out at least, and it might be until about next week until I have a nice long stretch of time off to start working on the next chapter! Anyways, stay safe peeps, take it easy!**


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